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reporter Juliana Rufus

London , UK , November 28, 2005 (Channel four) – Long forgotten by the western media after the shocking atrocities of the early nineties civil war, Somalia is back in the headlines as the possible next target in the US war against terrorism. As the third series of Unreported World looks at countries on the terrorism frontline - where repression and poverty combine to create a groundswell of support for a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam - reporter Juliana Rufus and producer/camerawoman Elizabeth Jones embark on a hazardous journey into a country ruled by warlords and gunmen to investigate allegations of a dangerous growth of religious extremism in Somalia.

Recently the country had begun to make tentative steps towards normality, but the war against terrorism has put that on hold.   In November the US government closed down Al-Barakaat , Somalia 's largest companies, in effect depriving at least 60% of Somalis who rely on remittances from abroad of their income and freezing the savings of hundreds of traders and small businessmen. US action also prevented the entire Somali population from accessing the internet and vital phone services which the Al-Barakaat company provided. America says the corporation has helped fund terrorists, an accusation strenuously denied by them. The closure has plunged this poverty stricken country into further chaos and the Somali population now feels that the US war is waged against them as much as against the terrorist targets. For the first time on British television, Unreported World talks to Al-Barakaat managers.

Osama Biin Laden claims that he sent several top lieutenants to provide assistance to Mohammed Farah Aideed, a local warlord, in 1993. Aideed's forces killed 18 U.S. Army troops serving in a U.N. peacekeeping force in October of that year. Television images of an American body being dragged through the streets of the capital, Mogadishu , shocked the Clinton administration and precipitated its decision to withdraw all U.S. forces from the country. This humiliating episode in America 's history is depicted in Ridley Scott’s latest Hollywood blockbuster Black Hawk Down. Today, US aircraft are flying reconnaissance missions over the country again, preparing for possible bombing strikes against Somali warlords suspected of links to Bin Laden. Among their new allies is none other than Aideed junior.

But whilst fearing US military action many ordinary Somalis bemoan the absence of western NGOs and resent current dependence on Arab aid, which comes with Islamic strings attached. There are fundamentalists among the local population, but many would welcome an international presence to end the rule of warlords. Some have even raised American flags on their roofs.

As the programme examines the effects of America 's action to stamp out extremism in Somalia , it becomes apparent that an overall moderate Muslim population might be radicalized. How close is Somalia to becoming Africa 's Afghanistan ?

Episode Synopsis